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“Sam a Policeman\ 


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Little American Books 


MSt 




Bertha M.Rhodes 



Pictures by 

Eleanore M. Hubbard 


JUNIOR PRESS BOOKS 

albertXwhitman 

4co 

CHICAGO 

1936 









Printed in the United States of America 


Copyright, 1936 
By Albert Whitman & Co. 


Little American Books 

JUST TOM 
EAGLE RANCH 
SIGNALS 

SPOTTED DEER’S PARTY 
ENGINE COMPANY No. 25 
FLAG TO THE FRONT 


. L 34-14. 

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Previously copyrighted 1927 *try Bertha M. Rhodes and published 
elsewhere in different format. 


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JUST TOM 


T OM threw himself upon the ground 
with a sigh of relief. He had reached 
the place where city ends and country 
begins. Behind him was a narrow street 
to which the houses snuggled up closely, 
as though wishing to miss nothing of what 
took place before them. In front of him 
lay green fields, stretching away to distant 
hills. Among the fields stood a white house 
with low spreading roof, which seemed to 
say: 

“There is plenty of room out here, why 
crowd up in the city?” 


11 


JUST TOM 


Tom accepted this as an invitation, pil¬ 
lowed his head on the cool grass, and fell 
asleep. 

How long Tom had been asleep he did 
not know. He was suddenly awakened by 
a kiss on the forehead. He could not re¬ 
member ever having been kissed. He had 
seen Hannah kiss the baby. Now Hannah 
and the baby had gone to their new home 
in the west. The lady who had left Tom 
with them had never returned, so Hannah 
had asked the police to come and take care 
of him. Tom did not want to go with a 
policeman. He slipped out of the back door 
as the policeman came in at the front. By 
the time they had searched the house for 
him he was far away. 

But who had kissed him? Tom opened his 


12 





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JUST TOM 


eyes. Beside him stood a beautiful black 
horse with a white face and eyes which 
looked at him kindly. The horse nodded 
at Tom. 

“How do you do?” said Tom, not know¬ 
ing- what else to say. 

The horse held up one of his front feet. 
Tom took the foot and shook it. Again the 
horse nodded, started off, stopped and nodded 
again. It was very plain that he wanted 
Tom to go with him. Perhaps he had come 
to give him a ride. 

Tom was too small to climb up on his 
back, so he led the horse to a nearby fence. 
The horse waited quietly until Tom climbed 
the fence and was seated on his back. Then 
he started off on a gentle trot along the 
road, turned in at the gate and stopped 


14 


JUST TOM 


before the white house with the low spread¬ 
ing roof. 

“Oh, Daddy!” exclaimed a woman’s voice. 
“Jimmy is bringing a child, where do you 
suppose he got him?” 

“I don’t know, Mother,” said Daddy. “I’ll 
see.” When the horse stopped at the door 
Mother and Daddy Anson were both out¬ 
side waiting for him. 

“Did you find a boy, Jimmy?” asked 
Daddy, as he helped Tom down from the 
horse’s back. 

“Yes,” nodded the horse. 

“Is he your friend?” 

“Yes,” nodding. 

“Do you know him, Jimmy?” 

“No.” The horse shook his head. 


15 


JUST TOM 


“He doesn’t know you,” said Daddy, turn¬ 
ing to the boy. “Tell him your name.” 

“My name is Tom.” 

“Tom what? He wants to know all of it.” 

“That’s all,” said the boy, “just Tom.” 

“Is Tom your friend, Jimmy?” asked the 
man. 

The horse nodded. 

“Do you like him?” 

“Yes,” nodding again. 

“Would you like him better if he would 
give you a piece of candy?” 

“Yes!” nodding very hard. 

“Jimmy wants a piece of candy,” said 
Daddy. “Why don’t you give him a piece?” 

“I haven’t any candy,” said Tom. 

“Here’s a piece—but perhaps you would 
rather eat it yourself.” 


16 


JUST TOM 


“Oh, no!” said Tom. He held out the 
candy and the horse took it daintily from 
his hand. 

“Say ‘thank you,’ Jimmy,” said his 
master. 

Jimmy nodded. 

“Now kiss the boy and say good night.” 

Jimmy touched Tom’s forehead with his 
nose; then nodding to each of them, turned 
and went to the stable. Tom stood looking 
after him. He had half a notion to follow. 

“Come into the house, Tom,” said the 
man. “We’ve had our dinner but Mother 
will give you something to eat. I think you 
want more than a piece of candy. How 
about bread and milk and cookies, Mother?” 

Tom was hungry. Never had bread and 
milk tasted better to a small boy than did 


17 


JUST TOM 


that which Mother Anson set before him. 
He had scrubbed his face and hands and 
plastered his hair back with plenty of soap 
and warm water. There he sat shining and 
smiling. 

“You did well, Tom,” said Mother, as she 
brought in a plate of cookies. Such cookies! 
They had scalloped edges and were all 
sprinkled over with sugar, and a raisin in 
the center of each one. They fairly melted 
in Tom’s mouth. 

“These are good cookies, aren’t they?” 
asked Daddy. 

“Yes, sir,” said Tom. 

“Who makes the cookies in your house?” 
asked Daddy. 

“Hannah makes them.” 

“Who eats them?” 


18 


JUST TOM 


“Hannah and I. The baby isn’t old 
enough to have cookies.” 

“Perhaps Hannah has some cookies for 
you now?” 

“No, Hannah and the baby are gone. She 
couldn’t take me because I didn’t belong to 
them,” said Tom. 

“And so she asked a policeman to call for 
you? And you ran away from him?” 

Tom looked at Daddy in amazement. How 
did he know? 

“And Jimmy found you,” continued 
Daddy. “Well, don’t worry. Now you be¬ 
long to Jimmy and he’ll not send for a po¬ 
liceman. Perhaps he’ll find a home for you. 
He knows a great deal for a horse.” 

It was late when Tom awoke the next 
morning. On the chair beside his bed lay 


19 


JUST TOM 


fresh clothes in place of the ones he had 
taken off. Tom put them on and went slowly 
down the stairs. No one was in the kitchen 
so he went out to the stable. It was empty. 
Jimmy was gone. 

“Good morning, Tom,” called Mother 
Anson from the garden. “Daddy and Jimmy 
have gone to the city. They will be back 
to-night. You are to stay with me till they 
return.” 

The day passed quickly. There were many 
pleasant things to do. Tom helped Mother 
Anson gather eggs, feed pigeons and chick¬ 
ens, arrange flowers for table and porch 
and gather apples in the orchard for apple 
sauce. After lunch he played under an 
apple tree while a saucy little squirrel 
scolded away at him. 


20 



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JUST TOM 


Every once in a while an apple let go of 
a branch and fell down with a thud. Tom 
gathered them up into a pile. Mother Anson 
had told him he might have all he could 
gather. At last he heard the sound of 
horses hoofs. Jimmy was coming. Tom ran 
down to the gate. Sure enough, there was 
Jimmy—but with a policeman on his back! 

“Stop! stop!” cried Tom. “You can’t have 
Jimmy!” Then he looked. It was Daddy 
Anson dressed in a police officer’s clothes. 

“Jimmy has come for more candy,” said 
Daddy. “He wants to know how his boy 
got along to-day.” 

* * * * 

After dinner Daddy Anson explained 
things to Tom. 

“You see, Tom,” he said, “the policeman 


22 


JUST TOM 


wants to help little children. That is a part 
of his work. The city pays him for doing it. 
Sometimes the children are so afraid that 
they run away, and the policeman cannot 
help them. Just yesterday I went to help 
a little boy and when I reached there he 
was gone.” 

“What was the little boy’s name?” asked 
Tom. 

“His name was Tom—just Tom!” 

“But I thought—” said Tom, and then 
he stopped. The things which were true 
were so much pleasanter than the things 
which he had feared, that he couldn’t ex¬ 
press himself. Tears came into his eyes, 
and then his face broke into a smile, which 
reminded Daddy Anson of the sun shining 
through the rain. 


23 


JUST TOM 


“Such a little boy,” he said, “to belong 1 
to—” he was going to say no one, but Tom 
finished for him. 

“To Jimmy.” 

“To belong to Jimmy,” said Daddy. “To¬ 
morrow I will take you with me and you 
shall see how Jimmy and I care for the 
children.” 

Tom was up early the next morning. He 
rode in front of Daddy Anson on Jimmy’s 
back. How the horse’s hoofs clattered along 
the pavement! Soon the houses grew larger 
and then changed to large apartment build¬ 
ings. At last Jimmy stopped. 

“This is where we wait for the children,” 
said Daddy, as he helped Tom down from 
the horse. “Here comes one of the teachers. 
Good morning, Madame!” 


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JUST TOM 


“Good morning-, Officer! Good morning 
Jimmy! Will you take me across the street 
to-day?” Jimmy nodded, walked beside her 
across the street and returned. Two little 
girls and a boy came along. 

“Good morning, George, Rosie and Ma¬ 
mie!” said Daddy. 

“Good morning, Officer Anson, and 
Jimmy,” said the children. 

Officer Anson and Jimmy took them 
safely across the street. Next came Tiny. 
She was a very little girl with black eyes, 
red cheeks and curly hair. 

“Good morning, Tiny.” 

“Good morning, Officer Anson. Good 
morning, Jimmy.” 

Jimmy put his nose down to her pocket. 
Tiny stopped and laughed. 


26 


JUST TOM 


“I didn’t forget,” she said. “See there?” 
and she took from her pocket a lump of 
sugar. 

“How did he know she had sugar?” asked 
Tom. 

“He always knows,” said Daddy. “He can 
smell it every time.” 

When the children were all in school, 
Daddy Anson, Tom and Jimmy went down 
to the beach. 

“Would you like to go into the water?” 
asked Daddy. Jimmy nodded. Daddy took 
off bridle and saddle and Jimmy waded into 
the water. Farther and farther he went 
until the water was nearly over his back. 
Then he turned and came back. Next he 
rolled over in the sand; then trotted around 
the beach to dry his shining coat, stopping 


27 


JUST TOM 


now and then to nod good morning to the 
children playing in the sand. Then he came 
back for his bridle and saddle. 

“Does he go into the water every day?” 
asked Tom. 

“No,” said Daddy. “He always knows 
when he wants to go in and can tell you. 
He never goes after having said “No.” 

They walked over to a side street. There 
they found two tiny children out in the mid¬ 
dle of the road, just where an auto, flying 
around the corner, would strike them. 

“If only children wouldn’t play in the 
road,” said Daddy. 

He looked up and down the street. There 
was no one near. He waited a few minutes. 

“It looks as though we would have to take 
them to the station. It is a mile and a half, 


28 



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JUST TOM 


Jimmy. You will have to follow. Tom may 
as well ride.” 

He swung- Tom up on the horse’s back. 
Then putting the baby, who was just learn¬ 
ing to toddle, into the doll cab, and taking 
the little girl in his arm, he led the way to 
the station. The little girl was not at all 
afraid. She put her arms around his neck 
and clung to him. At the station he gave 
the children into the policewoman’s care. 
This message was sent to all the other sta¬ 
tions: 

“Two little children and a doll cab found 
on Elaine Place, near the beach. They are 
at Hudson Station.” 

“Now,” said Daddy, “when some one 
misses them they will call up the police and 
find out where they are.” 


30 
































JUST TOM 


Jimmy was getting- tired. He knew it was 
time to go home. Daddy took out his watch 
and held it before the horse. 

“Is it time to go home, Jimmy?” he asked. 

Jimmy nodded. 

“It is, and we’ll go; but to-day, Jimmy, 
you are going back to the barn.” 

Jimmy turned and led the way to a large 
building not far distant. Daddy and Tom 
followed. Inside were many horses. 

“You see,” said Daddy, “these horses be¬ 
long to the city. They help policemen take 
care of the people. I’ve ridden Jimmy for 
fourteen years. Sometimes I take him home 
to see Mother Anson and have a taste of 
green grass. I couldn’t work without 
Jimmy.” Jimmy seemed to understand what 
he was saying. He rubbed his nose against 


32 



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JUST TOM 


Daddy’s shoulder and nuzzled his face. 

“Isn’t he sweet?” said Daddy Anson. 
“Isn’t he the cutest thing?” 

* * * * 

Three weeks passed. Still no one had 
called for Tom and he hadn’t found a home. 
He had saved a large basket of apples. 
They were out by the road where he in¬ 
tended to sell them to passers by. He was 
just putting on his cap to go out one morn¬ 
ing when Daddy Anson came into the house. 
His cheeks were red. His voice was excited 
as he talked to Mother in the next room. 
When he had gone Tom learned what had 
happened. A number of police horses were 
to be sold, Jimmy among them. 

“It will just kill Daddy to have him go,” 
said Mother. 


34 


JUST TOM 


“Then why does Daddy let him go?” 
asked Tom. 

“The Mayor has ordered him sold,” said 
Mother. “They have bought a younger 
horse to take his place.” 

Mother went to a house down the street 
to tell a friend. 

Tom sat out by the road with his apples. 
Suddenly all the happiness had faded out 
of the day. Jimmy was going to be sold, 
and it would just kill Daddy Anson. Mother 
said so. If Jimmy had to be sold, why 
couldn’t he, Tom, buy him? He hadn’t any 
money. If only some one would come and 
buy his apples. An auto stopped in front 
of him. 

“Apples to sell?” asked the woman who 
was driving. 


35 


JUST TOM 


“Yes,” said Tom. 

“How much are they?” 

“A dollar,” said Tom. Surely a dollar 
would buy a horse. 

“They are good apples,” said the lady, 
tasting one. “I will take them.” She slipped 
a big round dollar into Tom’s hand. Tom 
helped carry the apples to the auto. The 
back seat was empty. 

“May I ride?” asked Tom. 

“Where are you going?” asked the 
woman. 

“I am going to buy a horse,” said Tom. 
“Will a dollar buy a horse?” 

“Yes, if it isn’t too large a one. All right! 
Jump in—that is if you know where you 
are going!” The woman went on talking to 
her friend and forgot all about Tom. They 


36 





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JUST TOM 


were down town when she suddenly re¬ 
membered and stopped. 

“My boy,” she said, “I’ve brought you 
way into town. Now what shall I do?” 

“Leave me at the Mayor’s,” said Tom. 
“Daddy will take me home.” 

“He seems to know what he wants,” she 
said. “I think it’s all right. The City Hall 
is right here. You’ll find your father in¬ 
side.” 

The Mayor was sitting in his office when 
the door opened and Tom walked in. 

“What can I do for you, little man?” he 
asked. 

“I’ve come to buy Jimmy,” said Tom. 

“Who is Jimmy?” asked the Mayor. 

“Jimmy is Daddy Anson’s horse,” said 
Tom, “the one he rides. It will kill Daddy 


38 


JUST TOM 


if any one else buys him. Mother Anson 
said so.” 

“Who is Daddy Anson?” 

“Daddy Anson is the policeman who helps 
little children,” said Tom. “Here is a 
dollar.” 

“Is that for the horse?” asked the Mayor. 

“Yes, sir,” Tom answered. 

The Mayor took a sheet of paper and 
wrote upon it. 

“What is your name?” he asked. 

“My name is Tom.” 

“Tom what?” 

“Just Tom.” Just Tom, wrote the Mayor, 
and then signed his own name below it. 

“Now Tom, you sit over there and look 
out of the window for awhile. You will see 
lots of interesting things.” 


39 


JUST TOM 


Then the Mayor turned to the telephone. 

“Hello! Send Officer Anson to me.” 

Soon Daddy Anson came in at the door. 

“Good afternoon, Officer,” said the Mayor. 
“I hear you would like to buy the horse you 
have been riding-.” 

“Yes, if I can,” said Daddy. 

“He is yours,” said the Mayor, handing 
him the note he had written. Daddy An¬ 
son read it. It said: 

“Police horse Jimmy is sold to Officer 
Anson, the first payment of one dollar be¬ 
ing made by ‘Just Tom.’ ” 

Signed. 

The Mayor. 

“Tom!” said Officer Anson in surprise. 
“Has Tom been here?” 

“I’m here. Daddy,” said Tom, running up 


40 



JUST TOM 


to him. “That’s for Jimmy. He’s yours. I 
bought him with my dollar!” 

“Who is this boy?” asked the Mayor. 
“Where did he come from?” 

“Jimmy found him,” said Daddy. “He 
didn’t have any home. But now he is going 
to stay with us and take care of Jimmy 
when I’m at work, aren’t you Tom?” 

“Yes,” said Tom, with beaming face. And 
that is how “Just Tom” became Tommy 
Anson. 











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